TopNews

Detour In Place On Florida 19

Trucks traveling on State Road 19 from the Groveland, FL, area to U.S. Highway 27 in northern Lake County will have to take a long detour starting this week.

The road will be closed until June for replacement of the two-lane bridge crossing the Palatlakaha River. The bridge, among the last wooden piling bridges on the state road system, has narrow shoulders and is obsolete.The environmentally sensitive wetlands surrounding the site prevented the construction of a temporary bridge. That means while cars can take Villa City Road from State Road 50 to U.S. 27, trucks will have to take a longer detour eastbound on State Road 50 to U.S. 27 and then back north.Officials at trucking company Carroll Fulmer, located in the industrial park at S.R. 19 and U.S. 27, say the closing will have a significant effect. With about 250 loads a month using S.R. 19 to go to the Brooksville area, the extra mileage required by the detours will cost the company about $15,000 a month.